A schedule is a list of time-based details. It can be a schedule of appointments, meetings, phone calls, tasks, or other events, each with either a time or a priority level. Your daily efforts as a salesperson will require scheduling or planning tasks and events by date and time. In addition, your schedule must have sufficient room to manage unscheduled events. Learning to manage your schedule is a critical part of being a successful salesperson.

Most schedules are recorded on calendars of some type. It can be a simple printed calendar book available at office supply stores or it can be an electronic device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or software on your computer. Exactly what the tool will be depends on what your employer prefers that you use as well as your own preferences. If you do most of your work on a laptop or a PDA, putting your scheduling calendar on it makes sense. If your scheduling requirements are limited, a simple pocket calendar book may be sufficient.

The next question is: Who manages your schedule? In most cases, you will. However, depending on what support staff you have, a gatekeeper — secretary, assistant, clerk — may be in charge of setting up your schedule and helping you to meet appointments. If there is more than one source for scheduling, make sure that it is coordinated. You don't want to go to an appointment only to discover that it has been cancelled or moved to another location through your secretary. Fortunately, many scheduling software programs can help you coordinate or match up schedules from various sources while minimizing conflict. However, it requires that you set up the coordination system. That could mean an automatic uploading or downloading of data overnight. If so, you must make sure every day that you are aware of the latest scheduling changes and are prepared for the day's events.

Feedback is output used to adjust input. You see that the faucet you turned on is flowing too fast (output), so you to turn the faucet handle back (adjust input). The process is called feedback and you use it in a hundred ways every day as you drive, speak, eat, and work. You make correcting changes in the input to alter the output to a desired level.

Scheduling your day gives you specific outputs. For example, you meet with Mary at 3 P.M. and learn that she is prepared for your one-hour meeting and it only takes a half hour. So, when scheduling your next meeting with her, you plan it for a half hour. Other adjustments are made in your scheduling based on feedback. You learn that a new highway cuts twenty minutes off your commute and you can start the day earlier. Or you discover that Friday traffic delays your afternoon appointments. These adjustments are common and necessary. By making note of them, you can be a more efficient scheduler of your valuable time.